For fun, I created a map - a step
by step - image reduction, available here:
Image Reduction Map

Coming soon is a detailed paper on the
Photometric System - a step by step tool on creating
your own Color Magnitude Diagram and the math used
to evaluate your data.

Amateur and professional Astronomer's do work
together. There are several areas of Astronomy that
the professional relies on the amateur: asteroid
hunting, novae and supernova searches, comets,
meteors and gamma ray burst detections.

While many of the professional all sky survey's will
all but eliminate and chance of an amateur to
discover many of these objects, professional
astronomers rely on the amateur for follow-up data.
While the professionals have access to the big
telescopes, there are not enough and telescope time
is reserved months in advance. When time on the big
scope is granted, such time is limited and not
enough to track or study these phenomenon on a long
term basis. Enter the amateur: scattered throughout
the globe and boasting computer controlled
telescopes with sensitive CCD cameras, the amateur
is in a position to offer valuable long term data
for the professional. Below are a list if links that
can help you get involved with these advanced
astrophotographic topics that offer real scientific
benefits: